Root of All Evil

by Hayden, Jennifer

  “So it was you.”

  “I want you to stay away from my wife.”

  After a moment, she smiled. “Not exactly the type of friend you want her to associate with, huh? Not that I blame you.” She walked down the stairs and paused in front of him. “Is she okay?”

  “No, she’s not okay.” He glared down at her through his dark glasses. “She hardly eats, has regular panic attacks and is nursing all the cuts and bruises that you and your boyfriend gave her. When I touch her she flinches and when I turn the lights off she hides in the closet.”

  Karen had the decency to wince.

  “I know I’m forgetting some things, but you lived with her. I guess you know what you did to her.”

  “It wasn’t me.” She dragged on the smoke again. “I never hurt her.”

  “The hell you didn’t. I’m warning you, do not come near my family again. If you do, you’ll be sorry.”

  “I’m sorry about a lot of things, Mr. Garrison. I never meant for Kate to be hurt this way.”

  He snorted at that. “I’ll bet you were real concerned about her when you helped your boyfriend ram our car into the fucking river. You didn’t think that was going to hurt her?”

  “I wasn’t the same person back then. I’ve changed.”

  “I can see you’ve turned over a new leaf.” He pulled his wallet out and opened it. He snatched a stack of bills out and begrudgingly offered them to her. “Go away and stay away.”

  Shocked, she took the money. “Why are you doing this? Clearly, you hate me.”

  “Yes. But my wife doesn’t and I happen to love my wife.”

  “Wow.” She shoved the money into her shoulder bag. “You know what’s funny is that the entire three years she was with us she told me stories about you. About how kind, caring and special you were. I really thought she was making them up. I guess maybe she wasn’t.”

  “I love my wife,” was all he said. He turned to leave.

  “Wait.”

  He looked back.

  “I need you to give her something for me.” She dug into her shoulder bag, pulling out a small baggie. She offered it to him. “I was going to give this back to her the other day, but I was waiting for the right moment.”

  Luke took the bag, surprised to see Kate’s wedding rings inside. He looked from the rings back up to Karen, his brow raised in surprise.

  “I took them from her a long time ago. I was going to pawn them.”

  Now he scowled. If she’d only stop talking, he’d be able to keep himself from strangling her.

  “The point is, Romeo, I didn’t. I couldn’t do it, even back then. Even when I was starving to death and having to whore myself for money. I knew how much her marriage and these rings meant to her. That should tell you something about how much you mean to her.”

  He pocketed the rings. “I suppose I should thank you. But if I thank you for that, I would probably need to thank you for all the cuts and bruises, including the slices on her head. And, I guess I would have to thank you for the nice haircut you gave her and all the lies you told her, and for nearly killing my daughter and I. So instead of thanking you for any of that, I’m going to give you a piece of advice. Go very far away. Try to use that money to start a new life. And don’t ever, ever so much as think about my wife again.”

  He turned and walked away, feeling marginally better than he had when he’d arrived at the police station.

  FIFTEEN

  Luke watched as Hallie played with Jake and Callie, Nate and Suz’s soon to be five-year-old twins. They were in the large playroom of Nate and Suz’s four-bedroom house, about a mile or so from Luke’s house.

  Hallie had been ecstatic to see Luke. She’d jumped into his arms, her tiny hands grabbing his face as she smacked a wet kiss on his lips. He’d immediately found himself smiling. God, he’d missed her. It had only been a couple of days and it had felt like a million.

  “She’s doing fine, Luke. The media circus on television has died down so she’s been watching some cartoons with the twins. Don’t look so pained.” Suz squeezed his arm reassuringly.

  “Thank you for doing this. I know it’s been hard on you guys too.”

  “We love having her, you know that.” They watched the kids play for a moment. “So how is she doing?”

  Knowing she meant Kate, Luke shrugged. “Better. Seems like each day she’s a little less scared and a little more like her old self. We got her hair fixed and got her some clothes today. I know she feels better about that.”

  “That’s great.”

  “I don’t know how to explain this to Hallie.”

  Suz was quiet for a moment. “It’s got to be easier to tell your child her mother is alive, than it is to tell her she’s dead.”

  She had a point. “I need to get this over with.”

  Suz nodded and called the kids in. Then she left Luke and Hallie alone in the kitchen, where Hallie nibbled on some cookies and drank some milk.

  “When can we go home, Daddy? I can’t wait to see Bentley.”

  Bentley would be excited to see her too. He had basically been banished to the back yard for the past two days. “I need to talk to you about something, Chipmunk.”

  Hallie swallowed some cookie and took a large gulp of milk, dribbling the liquid down her chin in the process. She wiped it away with the hem of her t-shirt. “Is Sara coming over? Are we going out for pizza?”

  At the mention of Sara, Luke found himself frowning. He was going to have to get his daughter past this Sara thing. “No, baby. Not tonight.”

  “Oh. We’re going to build a tree house,” she said, abruptly changing the subject. “Uncle Nate said we could.”

  “That’s great, Chipmunk.” He paused, trying to figure out where to begin. “Listen, baby. I need to talk to you about your mom.”

  Hallie stared at Luke intently, still chewing and swallowing. “Is Sara going to be my new mommy?” Suddenly her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “Oh Daddy, thank you!” She hopped out of her chair before he could even say anything and threw herself into his lap, bringing chocolate chip cookie crumbs with her and wiping them on his shirt. “Will I get to carry flowers in your wedding? Christie says she’s going to do that when her daddy gets married.”

  In spite of the fact that she was only a child, Christie was starting to get on his nerves. “Hallie, no. That’s not what I’m saying. You need to be a really big girl right now and listen, okay? This is going to be hard for you to understand.”

  She frowned, apparently sensing something wrong. “Why can’t you marry, Sara? You said you like her.”

  “I can’t marry her because I don’t love her, baby. When you marry someone, it’s because you love them. That’s why I married your mommy.”

  Hallie looked confused. “But Mommy is in Heaven and can’t come back.”

  “Your mommy isn’t in Heaven, Hallie.”

  Hallie sat there staring up at him with those big blue eyes, a look of confusion furrowing her tiny brow. “Then where is she?”

  “Heaven is for people who die. Your mommy isn’t dead.” He brushed a finger across her cheek. “I know you aren’t going to fully understand this, but some very bad people took your mommy away from us for a while. They made us believe that Mommy was dead, even though she wasn’t.”

  “My mommy isn’t in Heaven?”

  “No, baby. She’s at our house right now with Uncle Nate.”

  “Oh.” She appeared to think that over. “Okay. Can I go home now and play with Bentley?”

  Surprised, he narrowed his eyes. This wasn’t exactly the reaction he had expected.

  “I’m going to go get my bag.” She jumped off his lap and disappeared from the room before he could say anything. Suz walked in a moment later.

  “How’d it go?”

  Still baffled, he shook his head. “I have no idea. I told her her mother is still alive and she said she wanted to go home and play with the dog.”

  Suz gave him a sympathetic smile. “K
ids at her age are like that, Luke. She’s too little to fully comprehend what she can’t see with her own eyes.”

  “So you’re saying she’s going to freak out when she gets home and sees Kate there?”

  “Not necessarily. I’m just saying that Kate’s not real to her yet. She won’t be until she actually sees Kate for herself.”

  Luke cursed. He had expected any reaction from Hallie but the one he’d gotten.

  “Take her home, see how it goes. That’s all you can do,” Suz encouraged. “It’s going to take time but it will work out.”

  He supposed she was right. But all the way home his stomach was in knots. Hallie was chattering in the back seat and playing with Beasley, an old stuffed monkey she liked to carry around. She was acting as though everything was the same as it was yesterday. She even went so far as to beg for McDonalds, which he’d given in and bought her. The minute the truck pulled into the driveway and parked next to Nate’s sedan, she undid her belt and grabbed her Happy Meal.

  “I can’t wait to see Bentley. I bet he really missed me.” She waited for Luke to lift her to the ground.

  “Listen, baby. You remember what I told you, don’t you?”

  Hallie sat down on the floorboard, attempting to hop out of the truck herself. She didn’t answer his question so he reached down and picked her up. His eyes searched hers for any sign that she understood what he was talking about. He saw no indication of any comprehension. Clearly, she did think she was just going to go inside and play with her dog.

  “Hallie, your mom is in there. Do you understand? She’s been waiting a long time to meet you.”

  “I know, Daddy. You told me.”

  He heard the impatience in her voice and frowned again.

  “Daddy, I’m hungry.” Now she was whining. He reluctantly set her on the ground. She took off for the house and he could only hope Nate had seen them drive up and would catch her at the door. Fortunately, he did. He swung her up into his arms and eyed his brother curiously.

  “I told her,” was all Luke said.

  “Put me down, Uncle Nate. I’m hungry.”

  Now it was Nate frowning. He set his niece down carefully. She sprinted off before they could stop her.

  Luke shrugged his shoulders. “I guess this is how she’s going to deal with it. Where’s Kate?”

  “She’s upstairs taking a nap. She sure does look better.”

  “The hair helped. I appreciate you staying with her.”

  “Anytime. Maybe I should stick around a while.” Nate eyed his brother sympathetically.

  “I have to deal with this sooner or later. Go home to your family."

  After Nate had driven off, Luke walked into the house and shut the door behind him. He took the stairs two at a time, knowing Hallie was out in the backyard accepting wet, slobbery kisses from Bentley.

  He walked into the bedroom and was surprised to find Kate at the French doors that led out onto a small balcony overlooking the backyard. Too late to warn her, he figured out quickly. He walked over and stood next to her, following her gaze to where Hallie was bouncing around the backyard, Bentley in tow.

  “I’m sorry. I was coming up to tell you we were back.”

  “I heard her laughing.” The words were so quiet he barely heard them.

  “She’s pretty tight with that hound. She’s had him since she was barely walking.”

  “I see that.” He heard Kate take a deep breath and then she turned around. Seeing her with her new hair and decent clothes it was hard to remember that three years had gone by while they were apart. The sadness in her eyes abruptly reminded him.

  “Did you tell her?” she asked.

  “I told her.” He glanced down at his daughter again. She was tossing a fry onto the grass for Bentley, who quickly sucked it into his mouth and swallowed. “She doesn’t fully understand. She’s too little. When she sees you she will.”

  “Maybe I should give her a night to get used to being home.” She folded her arms over her chest nervously.

  “I don’t think so. She knows you’re here. Having you hide would be a mistake.”

  “I’m scared, Luke.” She glanced out the window again. “I don’t know what to say to her. I mean for three years I thought she was dead and I would have given anything for this moment. But now it’s here and I’m terrified.”

  He felt for her. He couldn’t imagine being in her position. “Just say whatever comes to your mind. Hi, would be a good icebreaker.”

  She shook her head sadly. “I’ve missed her for so long. The last time I saw her she was so tiny.” A tear slid down her cheek. He reached for her, folding her in his arms carefully. She didn’t try to pull away.

  “I know this is going to be hard for you. But I’m here—for both of you. She’s your daughter, Katie. And sooner or later she’s going to accept that. It may not be today, but it will happen.”

  She looked up at him, her fingers resting at his waist. “What if she doesn’t?”

  He reached over and brushed a blonde hair away from her face. “She will.” He leaned down, letting his nose bump against hers softly. He knew he should slow down, give her more time to get used to things, but he’d missed this kind of intimacy for too long. He let his mouth graze hers. The contact was fleeting but electric. He did it again, this time with a little more pressure. Her fingers tightened their grip at his waist. He reached up and tangled his fingers in her hair. Slanting his head the other way, he watched her eyes as he bent forward again. This time he licked at her lips, eventually moving his tongue between her teeth. She met him halfway, her tongue tangling with his. God, he’d missed this. He and Kate had always been electric. They’d always had overwhelming amounts of passion between them.

  “I missed you.” He said the words against her mouth, reluctantly forcing his eyes open and looking down at her. “More than you’ll ever know.”

  “I missed you too.” She smiled halfway. “I should go see Hallie.”

  “You should.” He slowly stepped back. Together they walked downstairs. By this time Hallie had come into the kitchen and spread the rest of her Happy Meal out on the kitchen table. She looked up as the two adults entered the room.

  “I shared my fries with Bentley,” she told her father. She didn’t acknowledge Kate at all. Luke grimaced, almost feeling Kate’s pain. This was going to be even harder than he’d thought. “Hal, I want you to meet someone.”

  “Can I eat first? There’s a new Strawberry Shortcake coming on in a while. Auntie Suz told me.”

  “No,” he told her. “We’re not watching television right now. Daddy’s talking to you.” He walked over and knelt in front of her. “I want you to meet your mom, Hallie.”

  This time Hallie did look over at Kate, who stood nervously in the doorway. She had a tentative smile on her face but it was obvious she was terrified.

  “Hi,” Hallie said, her face void of any emotion.

  “Hi,” Kate said quietly. “I like your dog.”

  “He can fetch and beg. He’s really smart,” Hallie said matter-of-factly. She shoved a fry into her mouth. “Daddy and I are going to build him a neat doghouse soon.” She looked at her father. “Member, you promised me at Christmas?”

  Luke stood up straight. “I remember.”

  “Do you have a dog?” Hallie asked Kate.

  Caught off guard, Kate just shook her head. Luke saw the pain in her eyes and he wished there was something he could do to make it all easier for her. He couldn’t imagine talking to his daughter as though she were a stranger.

  “Did you have a dog when you was little?” Hallie prodded.

  Kate didn’t speak. Luke nodded at her but she only shook her head and he could see she was trying to keep herself together. “Your mom had a dog when she was little. Wasn’t his name Scruffy?” He nodded at Kate again.

  “Tuffy,” she said softly. “His name was Tuffy.”

  “Was he as big as Bentley?” Hallie took a huge gulp of pop. “Do you like Orange? It�
�s my favorite. It’s Sara’s favorite too.” Hallie smiled brightly. “She’s my friend—and Daddy’s friend too.”

  Luke couldn’t hide his surprise. It hadn’t occurred to him that Hallie would bring Sara up in front of Kate. Although it should have, he thought, trying to find a way to intervene. “Why don’t you tell her about your friend Christie?”

  “We’re in the same class.” Hallie wiped her mouth haphazardly with a napkin. “Her daddy’s getting married to his girlfriend.”

  This was not going well, he decided, nearly giving in to the urge to roll his eyes. Clearly, his daughter did not understand what was going on here. Just when he thought things were going to get worse, Hallie surprised him again.

  “Do you think you could make me some peanut butter cookies?”

  Stunned at the sudden change of subject, Kate only nodded.

  Luke found himself smiling. Maybe Hallie did understand after all. “Maybe we could all make peanut butter cookies together,” he suggested, and was relieved to see Hallie’s face light up brightly.

  “You mean I could help too?”

  “Sure, Chipmunk.”

  “Oh booooooy!” Hallie jumped down from her chair. “I can’t wait to tell Christie this!” She ran from the room, leaving Kate and Luke alone. Luke looked over at her concerned. The whole thing had gone off as rather uneventful and yet it was such a huge thing for Kate. He could tell she was confused and maybe a little sad. She wasn’t crying though. Her eyes were clear as they looked up into his.

  “She’s resilient, Kate. I don’t think she completely realizes what’s happened, but she does know you’re her mom.”

  “I didn’t expect her to react that way.” She walked over and sat down at the table, obviously still in shock.

  “Kids deal with things in different ways. We could very well have had her bawling her head off, just as likely.” He sat down across from her. “Are you okay?”